Panelists | Performers | Market Artists
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TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Wabanaki
BIOGRAPHY
Cipelahq Ehpicik drum and sing for the people as a way to heal and a way to stay connected to their ancestors. Barbara Paul, the lead for the group says “The drum is the heartbeat of our people”
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Ojibwe + Oneida Nations
PANEL: Native Arts, Culture, & Technology
BIOGRAPHY
Ty Defoe (giizhig) – he/we – is a citizen of the Oneida and Anishinaabe Nations and a proud member of the Indigiqueer/Two-Spirit community. A Grammy Award-winning interdisciplinary artist, writer, and sovereign story trickster, Ty moves fluidly across mediums and movements. His work has been recognized with fellowships from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, MacDowell, Sundance Institute, and as a Trans Futurist with the Pop Culture Collaborative. Ty is also a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, a Grammy Award, and the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award. Ty creates across landscapes—from rural communities to Broadway stages to the metaverse—building relationships that center Indigenous and decolonial futures. He currently serves as Professor of Practice at Arizona State University and Writer-in-Residence at PACE. Deeply rooted in indigi-futurism and cultural traditions, Ty has learned storytelling, hoop dancing, and flute playing from his mentor, the late Kevin Locke. He considers himself a shape-shifter, bending in and out of artistic forms to challenge Western binaries and honor the celestial force of rainbows. Ty loves the color clear and mood rings.
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Chaubunagungamaug Band of Nipmuck
MEDIUM: Musician, Woodworker
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Hawk is a member of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuck, a people indigenous to what is now Southern New England. He has been composing original music and making Eastern Woodlands flutes using hand tools for over 30 years.
Hawk will play a variety of different flutes. He also enjoys sharing his experiences and perspectives about Life in hopes of acknowledging and honoring the Sacredness in each person and all cultures. He creates a calming yet engaging and contemplative space while maintaining a note of humor. His music is a reflection of thinking that we each have the capacity to make a change in the world.
Hawk has had the honor of presenting at venues such as The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Harvard Medical School Graduation, and in the U.K. with the London Mozart Players. He also enjoys educational settings from kindergarten to university and small venues where he can engage the audience in dialogue.
As a seasoned flute maker, Hawk has flutes all over the world and in several museums. He has three original CD's; First Flight, Keeping the Fire and Voices. He is also featured on the compilation CD Tribal Winds. His music has been used in a variety of films and documentaries, some of which won or were nominated for Emmy awards.
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Mi’kmaq Nation
MEDIUM: Diverse Arts
PERFORMANCE: Storytelling - Saturday, July 12 at 11 am on the Market Stage
PERFORMER BIO
Jennifer Pictou, a citizen of the Mi'kmaq Nation, is a traditional storyteller and artist with a diverse background as a museum director, tribal historic preservation officer, and historian. Her true passion lies in sharing stories that connect people to Maine's landscape and Wabanaki cultures. She is the founder of Bar Harbor Ghost Tours, which has been recognized by USA Today as one of the top ten ghost tours in the country for seven years. Most recently, she co-authored the book Haunted Bar Harbor, published in May 2025.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As an artist deeply connected to my Mi’kmaq heritage, I draw inspiration from the rich cultural tapestry of my ancestors’ resistance and survival, infusing my work with elements of tradition and history. Through the ancient techniques of glass beads, lampwork, and stained glass, I reclaim indigenous space and weave a contemporary narrative that honors the resilience and beauty of Mi’kmaq people in my homeland.
In the fiery torch, I mold molten glass into statements of today’s enduring issues and passions. Each bead and sculpture tell a story of strength and perseverance, reflecting the enduring legacy of my ancestors.
Within the delicacy of stained glass, I draw from the vibrant hues of ancestral objects and the natural world, using the Colonizer’s own medium of religious oppression to tell our story of survival and world views.
In my beadwork I delve into the cultural resistance of my ancestors to create one-of-a-kind statement pieces of intricate form and function. These represent a claiming of modernity and space within fashion.
Through all of my work I explore the themes of identity and belonging, using the interplay of light and color to reclaim and redefine Mi’kmaq narratives in a contemporary context. Each piece is a rebuttal of the prevalent ideas that we are no longer here, reminding viewers of the importance of preserving and honoring indigenous heritage in an ever-changing world.
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Mi’kmaq
MEDIUM: Painting; Jewelry; Woodwork
ARTIST STATEMENT
My name is David Lonebear Sanipass, I grew up in northern Maine. I am from the Mi’kmaq Nation. I am a carver, make flutes, I paint and sketch. As an artist you want to be able to represent your art. I find the best way is to be able to talk about what it means. Some of what I do is so intricate you’re not really looking at what it means. The representation has been lost through interpretation. Part of the beauty isn't appreciated because it doesn’t speak to you. We have found a way for my art to speak with you, to come from my spirit, so it can be better appreciated and you will know more where I am coming from.
TRIBAL AFFILIATION: Passamaquoddy
BIOGRAPHY
Minquansis Sapiel pronounced (Min-Gwon-sis) is an enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe from Sipayik, one of the two Passamaquoddy reservations in Maine, a tribe that is a part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. She grew up in Sipayik overlooking the Passamaquoody Bay. She is a published Author of a Children’s Book called “Little People of the Dawn’ She also received her Masters degree in Social Work and has earned her Captains license. She is self employed as a Storyteller, truthteller and Speaker, provides guided tours. The Hope is to connect people to the Passamaquoddy bay and provide people with a better understanding of Wabanaki History and Culture. In the meantime, she has collaborated with many organizations throughout Maine speaking on various topics of Wabanaki history and culture. She is a mother of three daughters and loves photography and nature.
Little People of the Dawn is a beautiful Passamaquoddy story about a girl, Lili, who comes upon the Little People while on a visit to Second Island. The Little People were once friends with the Passamquoddy, but as the people began forgetting their traditional ways, the Little People retreated to the caves, and the Passamaquoddy rarely encountered them. Lili sets out to meet them, and along the way must learn her tribal language and ways if she is to communicate with them. The story reminds us of the importance of knowing our ways and caring for the earth.
Available in the Abbe Museum Gift Shop!
